Existing ERP systems may use a number of order tracking and inventory databases to store information that may be used to determine the availability of various raw material inputs and the status of work-in-progress orders and sales orders in a production process. These same databases may also store information on customers associated with the sales orders. However, when a purchase planner or production planner is faced with a deficiency in a specific raw material, it may be helpful to a planner or manager to understand the consequences of the product deficiency. For example, when a manager learns that a quantity of raw material may not become available at an expected time, it may be beneficial for the manager to understand what other related product orders, such as a work-in-progress orders and final product orders, may be affected.
Existing ERP applications may offer little or no help to a production planner in determining what related production orders may be affected by a deficiency in a raw material order. Existing ERP systems may only present reservations for the raw-material in text-based lists or tables or only show the direct reservations for a raw material in a first production step. Subsequent, dependant production steps, sales orders and customers may not be included in any one table. Thus, the manager may be unable to determine, in an efficient manner, which orders and, consequently, which customers, may get hurt from the product (raw material) deficiency. Furthermore, even if the manager is able to determine possible affected sales orders and customers, the manager may not be provided an efficient way to react to the deficiency by, for example, reallocating an available quantity of the deficient product or material to a production path that optimizes customer service. In other words, the manager may not be able to easily determine an optimal path to reroute available quantities of raw material to where the raw material or product would most benefit a supply company or production company.